Life in Every Breath
by Moon Lantern
Summary: March 1999: In the sanctuary of Shell Cottage, Ron and Marcena comfort each other as they look after two sleepers and wonder what it means to love another person. Contains fluff, references to graphic violence and spoilers from Book 3 of the Guardian Diaries series. Deleted scene from Amor y Libertad. Ron/Marcena friendship.
1. Chapter 1-My Life Would Suck Without You

Life in Every Breath

Chapter 1- My Life Would Suck Without You

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**Author's Note: Hello all! Right first things first, if you have NOT READ MY GUARDIAN DIARIES QUADRILOGY, then I would recommend that you don't read any further, unless you don't mind spoilers!  
**

**This is basically a series of one-shots describing life after the War, although there may be some "deleted scenes" during the quadrilogy that I can put in- I've even got an idea for one now.**

**For my Falconmaster fans- yes I am also working on it, so there should be an update soon, by next week hopefully.**

**In this chapter, Ron and Hermione's relationship is wearing really thin, but a little box of memories might change that.**

**Contains a lot of fluff.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, which has always belonged to JK Rowling. I only own my OCs that are mentioned in this chapter.**

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_22nd June 2005_

Ron coughed and violently brushed the ample amount of dust off the chipped wooden crate.

"Careful, you're getting the floor dirty!" Hermione said sharply.

"You can clean it up with magic anyway, so I don't know why you're worried so much!" Ron scoffed back.

There was a long and painful pause. He could hear Hermione's heart break with hurt, and it killed him inside.

A few months ago he would have rushed over to apologise, but that was then. It had been some time since they had moved in together, all their friends were excited for them and initially so were they. They had their own place at last, somewhere they could make home. It was a small bungalow in Dorset, reminding them a little of the Burrow,but just not quite the same.

Lately, something had been going so wrong. It seemed as if Hermione was always nagging Ron and correcting him to the point of utter irritation. Why couldn't she just let him be?

An incident at work, where Ron was made the subject of a serious allegation of misconduct by discriminating against two rich kids by demanding they 'get off their behinds', had got him suspended pending an investigation that seemed to be dragging on. Each investigator seemed stupidly incompetent and ended up resigning only for their successor to make the same lousy mistakes.

Ron's irritation was really severe; he had repeatedly kept on pushing Hermione away, as she tried to keep his mind busy by giving him all these chores, but he would rather wallow in self-pity.

Now their relationship was starting to crash and burn, as they found themselves bickering. Actually, their fight was put on an amiable hold in the past week or so. Ron and Hermione had just got back from the wedding of two of their mutual friends and it was a wonderful week. They were caught up in the romance, especially as Hermione was one of Marcena's bridesmaids and listened to a lot of sentimentally sweet stories. They got along together and for a second it seemed that their problems were gone. Also, they both loved the bride and groom and would have hated to ruin their happiness on their special day. That's why nobody knew what was going through the minds of this couple and it felt so hard and lonely.

Ron sighed and thought bittersweetly about where Gallardo would be now- probably cruising in a ferry from the Spanish coast of Tarifa and venturing into the land of Morocco, with his now wife. They were probably so loved up right now, it was ridiculous. Ron wondered how long until she would begin to nag Gallardo to death, or whether they got on each other's nerves.

He scolded himself for having such cynical thoughts , especially about his friends, but the truth was that Ron was feeling tired. The truth was that Ron and Hermione were wearing thin and the arguing had resurfaced after they had got back. Ron knew that even her patience was failing and that she wished him gone, even if she was too polite to say it. Ron had recently found this crate lying around, and for some bizarre reason had decided to bring it to their home.

He sighed again, lamenting silently on the fact that the chipped and heavily dusty box was in a better position than he was, and in a strange way he was right.

Ron stood up solemnly and walked away to the kitchen window, gazing into the distance like a child wanting to play outside, but the rain prevented him. Except there was no rain, it was a late June afternoon and it was only Ron's own inhibitions that told him he couldn't.

_"Dear Ron and Hermione," _Hermione read out.

Ron turned his head like a meerkat. She had opened the crate to find an ornamental box that was shaped like an Oriental Pagoda, and there was a note scribbled on it.

_"You two are right idiots!" _Hermione let out a pained laugh. Ron attempted to follow suite but he failed to measure half a smile, and the way Hermione looked at him when she saw that, her eyes blinked with moisture. Ron quickly looked away.

"Ron, will you come and sit with me?" Hermione said softly. "Please?"

Ron's heart jumped as he saw the tears in her eyes; swiftly, he was kneeling next to her.

"Hermione? Hey, what's wrong?" His arms wrapped around her and she held back, jolting him to spark a fire within his burning heart.

Hermione pulled back and chuckled sadly. She opened the small box and rummaged through what may look like a heap of junk to the ignorant. Pulling out a chess piece- a knight without a rider, to be precise, she grinned.

"Ron, do you remember in our first year when-"

"When we played chess!" Ron grinned back, with an army of more enthusiasm than he had for days. His eyes met with Hermione's and he reached over to squeeze her hand.

"You were so brave," Hermione whispered. She brandished an old wand that was broken but held together by sellotape.

"Is that my old wand?" Ron laughed. "I thought I threw this out ages ago."

"I fished it out," Hermione confessed shyly, blushing.

"W-why?" Ron stammered, narrowly missing a heart attack.

"When Malfoy called me a Mudblood, you were the only one to challenge him."

"Did you forget that it backfired on me?" Ron said, raising his eyebrows.

"No, but even as a twelve year old you were prepared to defend my honour," Hermione giggled, wrapping her arms on his and leaning her head on his shoulder, just like she used to.

Ron held his breath, before finding that his heart was racing like it hadn't for a long time, his body threatening to perspire.

"Thanks," he croaked. "I hated the idea of him, or anyone calling you that, it's just not right, especially since you are the smartest woman I know." Ron was blinking fiercely, knowing that she had begun to smile.

"Books, cleverness and bad assery- there're more important things," Hermione pondered. She looked into Ron's blue eyes and saw the man that she loved more than anyone looking back, and if only he knew! "Being willing to sacrifice yourself, giving me a shoulder to cry on and looking after me like you've done, now that is courage."

"I heard you talking with Marcena, in Shell Cottage all those years ago, when you thought I was asleep!" Hermione teased.

"Oh my God, you did what?" Ron exclaimed. "You really were not meant to hear any of that!"

"I know, but I'm glad you did."

"I was so scared that day," Ron admitted, looking away from her, a tear falling from his eyes. "More scared than I have ever been, seeing and hearing Bellatrix Lestrange... hurting you like she did."

"I know!" Hermione began sobbing. "Ron, when I used to have nightmares about it, when I used to wake up screaming because I thought I was there again, you were my hero, you were the one who always saved me and looked after me."

Ron bit his lip, castigating himself for his stupidity.

"Ron, are you unhappy with me?" Hermione squeaked.

"What?" Ron said, drying his eyes. "What on earth gave you that impression, Hermione?"

"Then why are you shutting me out?"

"I just- just... I thought you were unhappy with me," Ron replied. "I feel so low, but, Hermione, don't ever think it's your fault! It's just this stupid situation. I'm an idiot... I am so sorry!"

"It's OK, I'm an idiot too! I should have known that you were hurting so much," Hermione said, touching his cheek and chin. "It'll get better soon, you know. When Gallardo gets back from his honeymoon, we'll consult him on this, it's his area, but I think there's got to be something about suspension time limits."

"I hope you're right.

_"Dear Ron and Hermione, you two are right idiots!" _Ron read the letter. _"We love you, but stop wallowing in despair and realise how much you mean to each other. We know you're going to start having silly doubts, that you'll sometimes think that it's the end. So open this little box and suck it up! Love, Harry, Ginny, Gallardo and Marcena._

"Looks like we are idiots," Ron grinned. He could imagine the four of them cheering him and Hermione on. Turns out they weren't alone at all, because they had support and a safety net that they never knew existed.

"We can be idiots together," Hermione smile. She kissed him on the lips and held it, savouring this beautiful thing. "I know that you sometimes think that you think you don't deserve me, Ron, but there is no man I love more than you. Truth is, sometimes I wonder if I deserve you.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry, I don't know what to say," Ron swallowed.

"Say you love me and you won't shut me out?" Hermione suggested, snuggling with him and kissing his cheek.

Ron took a deep breath. "Well, I want to do a bit better than that."

"Oh?" Hermione said.

Ron grinned and turned around, looking her in the eye and holding her delicate hands. "Hermione Jean Granger, you are the most precious person in my entire life, I love you and I will always love you. I refuse to imagine a day when I wake up and you're not there, because my life would suck without you. Hermione, will you marry me?"

"What?" Hermione gasped in joyful shock, before taking a deep breath and throwing her arms around Ron. "Yes!" She kissed him fiercely and passionately.

Ron touched foreheads and grinned. She looked so pretty in her tracksuit bottoms and t-shirt and her brown hair pulled back in a curly ponytail. Her eyes glowed like fireflies in the night.

"I love you too, Ron. Because my life would really suck without you."

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**Author's Note: There we go, so what do you think? I've always been a Ron and Hermione rooter.  
**

**The scene where he talked to Marcena in Shell Cottage is one idea I've got floating around, but I don't know when it'll come into being.**

**Please read and review.**


	2. Chapter 2- To Love Another Person

Chapter 2-To Love Another Person

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**Author's Note: Hello all! Here's the second chapter of Life in Every Breath. Thanks for those who reviewed in the last chapter. This is a deleted scene from Chapter 3 of Amor y Libertad/Book 3 from the Guardian Diaries series. So if you have not reached that far yet, the GO BACK NOW!**

**Otherwise, I hope you enjoy the chapter, it is quite fluffy, despite some angst in it. But I thought a Ron/Marcena friendship scene would do very nicely as they watch two very special people sleep in Shell Cottage.**

**Enjoy!**

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_9th March 1999_

The brunette girl shuddered, as the waves of the cliff roared enviously against the cliff which housed Shell Cottage upon it. She was in the living room, a jacket that was too big wrapped around her. She could smell his scent on his jacket and she needed that despite the fact that he was lying on a mattress on the floor just before her. His face was bruised, his body recovering from the immense battering he had received for her sake, and she couldn't help but feel guilty. When he smiled at her yesterday night and held her hand, consoling her that he would protect her, she felt overjoyed. When Greyback was drooling over her like a dog over a piece of meat, she was really scared. Luckily, her Knight had defeated Greyback, he had fought for her honour and won, which made her heart race. Why had she been stupid enough to ask her Knight to spare the unworthy Greyback, who reneged on his promise? When she saw before her own eyes, the man who she cared about the most, or maybe even loved, being kicked, cursed and set upon, that's the one thing that had terrified her the most in the past twenty-four hours, and she found tears falling from her eyes. He could have died today and it would have been all her fault.

To say that it had been an eventful day was an understatement. Out of the blue, she had been reunited with a number of her friends from Hogwarts, and Hermione Granger lay pale faced and shattered on the couch, a grey blanket cast over her fragile figure.

Marcena sighed, thinking about how pretty Hermione looked even though Bellatrix Lestrange had been torturing her while everyone else could only listen from the prison below.

Suddenly, she realised that someone was shuffling at the door of the living room; it turned out to be the redhead that was Ron Weasely.

"Hey!" Marcena whispered.

"I can come back later, if you want?" Ron suggested weakly.

"No, it's OK. Sit with me," she replied, patting the floor next to her. "Hot chocolate?" Marcena offered him a mug and cocoa beans, before adding milk and heating it with her wand.

Ron obliged and sat next to her, both of their backs against the wall. The curtains were drawn, to give Hermione Granger and Gallardo Eagle the chance to rest and recuperate. Luna was also fast asleep, while Harry and Dean were digging a grave for someone who had given his life to get them all here.

"Are you all right?" Ron asked, touching her shoulder. Marcena realised that she was crying still.

"Uh-huh," she forced a smile, wiping her eyes quickly. "How are you, then?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Been better," Ron replied. "Although, I was..."

"You were what?" Marcena probed.

Ron shuddered and shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

"No, it's OK, you can tell me."

"I don't think I've ever been more afraid than I was in Malfoy Manor," Ron mumbled, looking at Hermione and swallowing many times.

This time it was Marcena's turn to put a hand on Ron's shoulder to comfort him. "It's funny, isn't it, how seeing someone else in pain and suffering feels much worse than whatever we've been through?"

"I've been a coward for way too long," Ron said coldly.

"Don't say that!" Marcena hushed.

"Thanks, but it's true!" Ron scoffed. "During this...quest... it got too much for me... the pressure and I ran away, I left my friends..."

Marcena squeezed his shoulder tighter, remembering when she had seen him a few months ago when she was mentoring Cho as a field reporter; she thought it best to not mention that now.

"Ron, I saw what you did," Marcena smiled. "It was really brave and noble of you to offer yourself to save Hermione."

"You think?" Ron livened up. It was only for a second, but Marcena grinned understandingly.

"I really do. A woman's heart is deep and complex, but she'll never ever forget what you did for her."

Ron pondered this for a moment, before sighing.

"You're smitten," Marcena said. It was a statement, not a question, and apparently a correct one judging by the lack of contradiction.

"Tell her," the brunette urged. "Or at least show her."

"Maybe...if the time is right... if she feels the same way..."

"You're a great guy," she nudged him amicably. "She likes that."

"Thanks, thank a lot."

"Any time."

"You know, we're a like," Ron said. "We're both sat here watching over people that we... that mean a lot to us."

Marcena blushed and nodded. "How's he been these past two years?"

"Just like Gallardo Eagle," Ron replied.

"Has he mentioned me at all?"

"All the time!" Ron said in a slightly higher than intended voice. Marcena gave him a look. "He doesn't need to; you saw how he reacted when he saw you."

Marcena nodded, once more burdened with the guilt as she looked upon Gallardo's seemingly slender figure, as it looked in that particular moment.

"It's not your fault, you know?" Ron nudged her.

"I know you're trying to be nice, but I'm the reason he was put in that position, he was protecting me! Besides, I told him to not kill Greyback!"

"But you're here now, aren't you?" Ron pointed out. "You're both safe, and do you know what? Gallardo would happily do what he did for you a thousand times over. Because, he loves you." A cheeky smirk came on his face.

"Maybe," Marcena blushed to the shade of strawberries.

Maybe Shell Cottage would provide them all with the respite they all needed during these times of cold bitterness. Maybe Ron and Marcena had both found out what it meant to love another person. It was not to drool over their sight or even to kick your heart into your throat every time you contemplated them. To love another person was to willingly put them before yourself and that was a beautiful thought.

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**Author's Note: How about a review now? What did you think of the dialogue, were Ron and Marcena in character?  
**

**The next one that I have planned is actually quite a funny and humourous take on something some would consider serious. It involves white sticks with a bit of blue and cost a lot of money, but can result in something wonderful because it'll remind you of how you might have been once. Any guesses?**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter?**


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